A displaced human in Gaza, a reinstated God in Ayodhya and Mona Lisa in a soup: Eyecatching photos of the week

Image: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images
 
Displaced Palestinians keep warm by a fire near their tent in Rafah, Gaza, on January 23, 2024. The toll since the October 7 war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas now exceeds 25,000 dead and 62,000 injured, according to the territory's health ministry. Two-thirds of the victims are believed to be women and children. Twenty-five percent of the population is in a "food catastrophe" situation and threatened with famine.

Image: Menahem Kahana / AFP
A picture taken from southern Israel at a position along the border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli soldier helping his child to get down from a tank as his family visits him upon his return from a mission in the Palestinian territory on January 28, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas.

Image: R.Satish Babu / AFP
A Hindu devotee with her tongue pierced with a metal rod in the shape of a vel (divine spear) takes part in a procession during the Thaipoosam festival in Chennai on January 25, 2024. Celebrated on the full moon day in the Tamil month of Thai, the festival commemorates a divine entity killing a demon using a spear granted by Parvati, Shiva's consort.

Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images
The idol of the five-year-old Ram Lalla after the consecration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024. The Ram Mandir, built on the ruins of a demolished mosque, is revered in the Indian imagination as the birthplace of Lord Rama.


Image: Alain Jocard / AFP

A model presents a creation for Balmain Menswear Ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2024/2025 collection show as part of the Paris Fashion Week at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris on January 20, 2024. Olivier Rousteing went all out with his vision of "screaming luxury, presenting a gold coat, gold face sculptures, heaped gold chains, a gold briefcase and a gold helmet.

Image: Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Fresh snowfall ends Kashmir Valley's longest dry spell in the Baramulla district of North Kashmir, India, on January 28, 2024. Popular tourist spots, including Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg, Gurez, Doodpathri, and Shopian, are reporting snowfall, with intermittent snow continuing.


Image: Joe Klamar / AFP

People take part in a rally under the motto "Defend Democracy" against right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism as rain falls in front of the parliament in Vienna, Austria, on January 26, 2024. Following the demonstrations against right-wing extremism in Germany, similar demonstrations are taking place in Austria.

 
Image: Yves Herman / Reuters

A sculpture of a cow is hoisted from a vehicle as French farmers stage a protest near the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on January 24, 2024. Farmers' discontent is fuelled by anger with EU policies, including the increasing cost of farm diesel, late payment of EU subsidies and competition from imports.


Image: David Cantiniaux / AFPTV / AFP
This image grab taken from AFPTV footage shows two environmental activists from the collective dubbed "Riposte Alimentaire" (Food Retaliation) hurling soup at the bullet-proof glass protecting Leonardo Da Vinci's famed Mona Lisa painting at the Louvre museum in Paris on January 28, 2024. The protesters were demanding the right to "healthy and sustainable food."

 
Image: Fadel Senna / AFP

A woman makes shea butter in an artisanal factory in Korhogo, northern Ivory Coast, on January 28, 2024. In Africa, shea butter is called "women's gold" because millions of women across the Sahel earn money making and selling it.

 
Image: Money Sharma/ AFP

An Indian Coast Guard marching contingent led by female commandants marches past during India's 75th Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26, 2024. Showcasing a significant stride towards gender inclusivity in the country's armed forces, women officers took the helm at this year's parade.


Image: VCG via Getty Images

Tesla unveiled its futuristic-looking Cybertruck at a shopping complex in Chongqing, China, on January 28, 2024. An electric full-size pickup truck featuring a triangular body design with flat sheet metal panels made of stainless steel, Tesla Cybertruck's Tour of China will run until the end of February.

 
Image: Marco Bello / AFP

Royal Caribbean's "Icon of the Seas," billed as the world's largest cruise ship, sails from the Port of Miami in Florida on its inaugural cruise on January 27, 2024. With a 55 ft indoor waterfall and a capacity for 8000 passengers across 20 decks, the 250000-ton LNG-run engineering marvel drew flak from environmental organisations for being prohibitively carbon intensive, despite Royal Caribbean's assertion that it runs on "cleanest-burning marine fuel".